The Waves IR-1 is a convolution reverb plug-in for native systems. It’s a great addition to any DAW looking for a very realistic sounding reverb that can wear a lot of different hats. You can buy this plug-in on it’s own, but for whatever reason it’s just available for native (LE) systems. It comes in a few plug-in bundles as well, but not all of the major ones include it – I think just the Mercury bundle has it of the larger bundles. The interface of the plug-in has a lot going on, so it’s going to take a little bit of use to get completely comfortable using it. I will say that it does give you all of the desired controls and more here. Included is the ability to choose from a variety of different presets, as well as settings for the reverb time, size, density, resonance, decorr, mix, EQ, and a number of other helpful controls. Most users are going to be able to figure out how to use it without the help of the manual.



SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The system that I’m running the Waves IR-1 is Pro Tools 9 on my home rig. I’m running it on a Mac Book Pro laptop that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM, while I run Pro Tools with a Digi 002R audio interface. I’m able to run this plug-in pretty smoothly, although I should say that I run it on an auxiliary channel always to save processing power anyway and would recommend doing the same. It’s hard to say how well it’s going to run on a less efficient system, but being it’s a native plug-in, I’d think most systems could handle it.


OVERALL OPINION

The Waves IR-1 is really a great sounding reverb plug-in. It’s not my favorite overall reverb plug-in, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some people preferred it to the rest. I personally use TL Space mostly, but I do use this plug-in a good amount as it provides you with more controls and has an overall great sound. It’s not the cheapest plug-in, but what can you expect being that it’s Waves and a heavy reverb plug-in. A great reverb plug-in is definitely a must have and you’ll get one in this…